Templates and records · HACCP · Clause 5.2 a)

HACCP hazard analysis table

Step by step, what could harm the consumer, how likely and serious it is, and what controls it. It is the first HACCP principle.

In one sentence

The hazard analysis table records, for each step in the flow diagram, the biological, chemical — including allergens — and physical hazards that may occur, their likelihood and severity, whether they are significant and the applicable control measures, which is what Article 5(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 requires as the first HACCP principle.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: HACCP · Clause 5.2 a) Clause references cite the points of Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) 852/2004, which lists the HACCP principles; they are applied following Codex CXC 1-1969, revised in 2020.
Type of information: Mandatory document HACCP plan document (Article 5(2)(a) of Regulation 852/2004)
Who fills it in: HACCP team Supported by literature, sector guides, alerts and in-house data
When: When designing the plan and at every change Also in response to food alerts or emerging hazards in the sector
How long it is kept: Current version and history A living document; earlier versions let you explain to an inspector why each control was chosen.

What the standard requires

What HACCP demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The Regulation requires you to identify any hazard that must be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels. The Codex sets out how: list the hazards reasonably likely to occur at each step, assess which are significant according to their likelihood and the severity of their effects, and consider the control measures available.

The 2020 Codex revision stresses that not every identified hazard needs a CCP: many are controlled through good hygiene practices, and others need greater attention without becoming critical.

Allergens are treated as a chemical hazard and must appear in the analysis, both those present in the recipe and those that may arrive through cross-contact.

Read it in context: Hazard analysis, in the HACCP Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Flow diagram step
Hazard: biological, chemical, allergen or physical
Cause or source
Likelihood and severity
Significant: yes or no, with justification
Planned control measure
Passed on to CCP determination
Sources consulted

Example

Example: cooking step in a fictitious ready-meals kitchen

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Step	Cooking chicken for salad
Biological	Survival of Salmonella and Campylobacter · high likelihood if temperature is not reached · high severity · significant
Measure	Cooking to 75 °C at the core of the product
Chemical	Cleaning product residues in the kettle · low likelihood · controlled by the rinse in the cleaning plan
Allergen	None at this step
Physical	Bone fragments · medium likelihood · medium severity · controlled at the deboning step
Outcome	The biological hazard goes on to CCP determination

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

A generic list of hazards not linked to specific steps.
Allergens missing from the analysis.
Every hazard is declared significant, or none is.
No justification for why a hazard is not significant.
The analysis is not reviewed after food alerts affecting the raw material.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Hazards are identified by process and product, with their risk assessment, within the HACCP plan itself.
2The allergen matrix by product feeds the analysis with data from the current technical data sheets.
3A change of supplier or recipe opens a review of the analysis affected.
4Versions of the analysis are recorded with their approval.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What method is used to assess hazards?

The usual one is a likelihood and severity matrix. The Codex does not impose a method; it asks for the assessment to be consistent and for the reasoning to be written down.

Do allergens go in the hazard analysis?

Yes, as a chemical hazard. Both those that are part of the recipe and those that may arrive through cross-contact via equipment, air or staff.

Is every significant hazard a CCP?

Not necessarily. It has to go through CCP determination: it may be controlled at a later step or by a measure that does not require critical monitoring.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (Article 5 and Annex II) EUR-Lex · 29 April 2004
General Principles of Food Hygiene, CXC 1-1969 Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO) · 2020 revision